Berkeley police will encrypt all radio traffic, a blow to transparency advocates

"Berkeley police will soon encrypt all its radio communications, in part, they say, to protect officers responding to emergencies and victims of violent and other crimes. The City Council signed off on the move Tuesday over the objections of journalists and transparency advocates and the misgivings of the city's civilian police oversight body. The Berkeley Police Department is the last law enforcement agency in Alameda County to still broadcast in the open,"

"a practice that was previously the rule rather than the exception and has been instrumental to members of the press and public seeking real-time information. We've had a number of documented cases where suspects are using live radio traffic via scanner apps to coordinate their responses to evade capture, Police Chief Jen Louis testified Tuesday. We've had three of those specific instances in the last month and a half."

Berkeley Police will encrypt all radio communications to protect officers responding to emergencies and victims of violent and other crimes and to meet state mandates restricting transmission of sensitive or personally identifiable information. The City Council approved the move despite objections from journalists, transparency advocates and concerns from the city's civilian police oversight body. Chief Jen Louis cited documented cases of suspects using live radio traffic via scanner apps to coordinate responses and evade capture, including three incidents in the past month and a half. The department judged partial encryption or mixed networks impractical given understaffed, overworked dispatch and officer staffing constraints.

Read at www.berkeleyside.org